


Man Or Machine?

by AislinMarue



Series: Destiel - Castiel/Dean Winchester [58]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Doctors, Destiel - Freeform, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-18 01:25:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5892757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AislinMarue/pseuds/AislinMarue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester is a surgical intern serving under Doctor Castiel Novak who is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country. He'd love to get to know his boss, but there's just one problem. Doctor Novak is a colossal asshole.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man Or Machine?

Being a surgical intern sucked. Royally. Being a surgical intern for Doctor Castiel Novak was even worse.

Doctor Novak was one of the best neurosurgeons in the United States and somehow, Dean had managed to find a position working with him. He wanted to specialize in the same field once his internship was complete and working with a legend like Novak would do wonders for helping him learn all he needed to know.

It was great except for the fact that Doctor Novak was a complete asshole. Dean wasn't a human being to him. He was a tool Castiel was trying to hone into a well-oiled machine. Last Dean heard, human beings required sleep. Apparently Novak wasn't human.

Dean practically lived at the hospital. He slept in the on call room pretty much every night. He took his meals wherever he could find a vending machine and a chair or bare stretch of floor. At that rate, he strongly considered giving up his apartment and living at the hospital since he did anyway. It would save him the cost of rent, he thought to himself ruefully.

“Winchester.”

Dean winced at the low voice that came from behind him, turning from the vending machine with a bag of chips in hand that was meant to be his lunch.

“Yes, Doctor Novak?”

Castiel Novak was gorgeous, but since he was firmly in the asshole category, Dean figured he'd only ever look rather than act. He stood there in a light blue dress shirt and black slacks, his white lab coat on, eyeing Dean with an impassive expression. “You were supposed to bring me the results of Mrs. Thompkins’ MRI twenty minutes ago.”

“I'm sorry, sir, the tech didn't have them ready when I went to get them. I thought I'd get something to eat then go back and see if they were ready.” Dean kept his head up and met those blue eyes steadily.

“Ah. I see. Far be it for me to disrupt your leisure time then. Perhaps when you've finished your mid morning snack, you can retrieve the results and update the charts for my current patients. When you have a free moment of course.” The words were delivered flatly, but with an edge of sass and Dean gritted his teeth.

“I'll go check again now, sir. I'm sorry for the delay.” He turned and stalked to the elevator to head to the third floor, muttering “What an asshole” as he went.

He didn't see the way Doctor Novak’s features softened slightly, nor the brief flash of hurt as he heard Dean’s words and watched his intern walk away.

He scarfed down his chips in the elevator then tossed the bag in the trash once he was on the third floor. Dean shook his head as he headed back downstairs, finally having Mrs. Thompkins’ results in hand.

It was par for the course for him to have his boss on his mind, but since his first day working at the hospital and meeting Doctor Novak, Dean couldn't help wishing the man was different. He'd tried warming up to him after being assigned to him, but Novak was generally cold and aloof. So Dean had backed off and given up on ever really connecting with him.

His heart and body weren't listening to his head, however.

Dean knew he was pining for his boss and he hated it. He wanted one kind word or even a smile, no matter how brief. Yet he'd never once received either. He told himself to just let it go. Let Novak go and focus on building up his career. It was far easier said than done though.

He watched Novak, in awe of the man's skill as a surgeon. He'd seen Castiel Novak pull off complex procedures that other doctors considered impossible or too difficult. He'd seen him save one life after another and bring anxious families the joyful news that their loved ones would be fine.

On those occasions, he saw the smiles. He saw the machine resemble a human being. And each time he fell a little more for Doctor Castiel Novak. He could never act on it though. Those smiles and gentle words were never for him. They never would be.

Dean sighed and pushed his errant thoughts away. He had a job to do.

He found Novak in the physician’s lounge, reading over a chart for one of his patients and making notes. Even when he was trying to eat or drink, he was still working. Novak pulled a mug of tea out of the microwave and took a careful sip, reading over the details of young Kevin Tran’s brain tumor.

Dean cleared his throat and spoke when Novak lifted his gaze. “Mrs. Thompkins’ results.” He walked up to Castiel and offered the paper which the doctor took with a nod. Dean didn't even get a thank you. It grated on his nerves so damn much.

Doctor Novak looked pleased, however, as he scanned the information. “Excellent. Prepare her discharge papers before you work on the charts. She can go home.”

He handed the results back to Dean to add to her chart and turned back to Kevin Tran’s. Dean knew that to be Castiel's way of dismissing him.

Dean bit back a sigh and went to go do as he was told.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Being fairly new to the hospital as he was, it was Dean’s first chance to attend the staff Christmas party. He'd been looking forward to it. He had quite a few friends amongst the staff and it was nice to get to spend a bit of time with them outside of a working environment.

The hospital had paid to rent a nice hall for the party and it was decorated very festively. It was strange for Dean to see his coworkers out of scrubs and lab coats, but he figured he'd get used to it as the evening progressed. He himself was wearing a dark green button down and black slacks as he mingled throughout the hall and said hello to people he knew. He did register the fact that he didn't see Doctor Novak anywhere and buried his disappointment. The guy probably wouldn't even talk to him had he been there anyway. He was probably neck deep in patient charts at work wondering where the hell his lazy intern was.

“Hey, Dean!” Dean looked over to see a group of his co-workers waving at him. He smiled and approached.

“Hey, guys.” He waved to the group and received greetings in return.

“Hey, brother. Didn't recognize you in street clothes,” Benny teased, earning a laugh from Dean.

“I was just thinking the same about you guys.” Dean smirked.

“Surprised Novak let you have the night off,” Victor said and Dean rolled his eyes.

“You and me both, man. That dude’s a slave driver.”

“He workin’ you too hard, brother? Maybe you should bat those pretty green eyes at him and he’ll go easy on you.” Benny nudged him with his elbow.

“Yeah, right. It's no wonder that asshole is single. Who’d want to be stuck with someone who pisses off ninety percent of the people he meets?” Dean chuckled, but the others had stopped laughing. They were looking at something behind Dean and most were wincing. He had a sudden, horrible thought.

“He's behind me. Isn't he.” When Benny nodded silently, Dean closed his eyes and cursed himself, flinching a bit when he heard that familiar voice. He did that a lot with his boss it seemed.

“Well, I had intended to come say hello, but since I seem to have such a negative effect on others I'll just bid you all a good evening and take my leave.”

Dean turned and saw his boss in a black three piece suit with a royal blue tie. Castiel looked amazing. But Dean noticed immediately his demeanor was different. He didn't look Dean in the eye. Instead, he turned and walked away from the group, steps carrying him toward the nearest exit.

“Awkward…” Dean heard Victor mutter, but didn't care. He cursed and dashed through the crowd of partygoers after Castiel.

“Doctor Novak?” he called once he was outside in the frigid night air. He saw Castiel walking down the sidewalk and shrugging into a black overcoat.

“Doctor Novak!” he tried again as he raced to catch up with him, a little breathless, but also freezing because he was stupid and went out without a coat. He couldn't risk Castiel disappearing though.

Doctor Novak didn't stop, putting his hands into black leather gloves. “The party is in the other direction, Doctor Winchester.”

Dean shook his head and kept pace beside him. “Look. Sir. I'm really sorry about what I said in there.”

“If you're worried about losing your job for expressing your opinion of me, don't be. You're a good doctor and someday you'll be an even better one.” Novak stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Now if you'll excuse me.”

“Wait…” Dean drew up short, eyes wide. “Did you just compliment me?”

“I believe I did. I've been known to do so for others on occasion.” He turned down a side street, breath fogging in the cold air as he exhaled.

Dean hastened to catch up again. “But...I thought you couldn't stand me. You're always so cold and aloof.”

“You're essentially my student, Doctor Winchester. It's my job to teach you what it's like to be a surgeon and how to survive as one. That doesn't include holding your hand and coddling you.”

Dean grasped his shoulder in an attempt to halt his progress down the street which surprised him when it worked. “So you've been making me bust my ass and practically living at that hospital for months because you've been trying to teach me?”

Castiel sighed, lowering his gaze as he turned to face Dean. “Being a surgeon isn't something you can ever take lightly. There will be days where you're dead on your feet, but you still have to give every single patient more than your best. I wanted to get you accustomed to the long hours and hectic workloads early. It’s easier to adjust to that way. Your mind and body adapt to it faster.”

“What about how you talk to me? Half the time you don't even thank me or even ask nicely for the things I do.” Dean arched a brow.

“Generally, as a surgeon, there isn't any time for pleasantries, Dean. There's always going to be something more important to focus on. I learned a long time ago that the gratitude you receive from a patient or their loved ones for helping them is all the gratitude you’ll ever need. It has to be enough. Because they are why we do what we do. They are why we work as hard as we do. And sometimes, the job will suck the life out of you, but in the end, it's worth it.”

The words struck a chord in Dean. He watched the man before him and his heart ached. He saw the hurt his words had caused. He saw now that Castiel wasn't a machine or a robot. He truly did care about his patients and the work he did. He cared about Dean enough to not let Dean’s attitude get in the way of doing his job and trying to teach Dean how to be a good surgeon.

He saw what he'd always wanted to see. Humanity. It had come at a terrible price.

“I'm so sorry…” he heard himself whisper. “I've always wanted to see this side of you, but after a while I just gave up.”

Castiel looked away. He shook his head. “It's fine. You should go back. It's freezing and you don't have a coat.”

“No.” The word surprised Castiel who returned his gaze to Dean. He took a step closer to Castiel. “No, I want to make things right with you. Not because I'm afraid of losing my job or damaging my working relationship with you.”

“Why then?” Castiel was wary and it was easy to see. Dean couldn't blame him.

“Because I want to know more about this side of you. I was scared it didn't exist. I gave up hope that it did. But I've always wanted to see it. See you. Not Doctor Novak. Just Castiel.” He smiled a bit and lifted a cold hand to Castiel's cheek.

Those blue eyes were wider from the words as well as the touch. “What if you don't like what you see?”

“I already do…” Dean whispered and leaned in, pressing his lips softly to the other man’s. He knew it was a risky move to make, but he had to. He needed to show Castiel he was serious.

He felt Castiel slowly begin to respond to the kiss and Dean smiled softly against his lips before he leaned back.

“I'm so sorry about before. I never should have said that about you. None of it was true.” He saw the way Castiel had his eyes closed and hoped his words were helping to soothe the pain he'd caused.

“I've always liked you. You're an amazing doctor. You'll be even better over time. But you're a beautiful man, inside and out also.” The confession was quietly given, but it warmed Dean more than any heater ever could.

Dean’s smile lingered and he wrapped his arms around Castiel, slipping them under his coat as they went around his waist. He felt Castiel wrap the coat around Dean as best he could. “It's nice to finally meet you, Castiel,” he whispered in his ear and heard an answering smile within the other man’s voice as snowflakes began to trail down from the night sky.

“It's nice to meet you as well. Dean.”


End file.
